The feeling was strange.
The sudden shift in the weather wasn’t.
It was a perfect summer afternoon thunderstorm – sudden darkening of
clouds, flashes of lightning, following thunder, and then the downpour. When
the showers stopped, outside the library, had collected small puddles strewn with
fuchsia bougainvillea and yellow laburnum flowers that had fallen from the trees.
Water dripped from the magnificent old trees in the lawn, peacocks screeched
loudly sitting atop the museum building, and birds chirped everywhere. Interspersed
between these sounds of nature, was silence, and a perfect wet stillness.
When I left the Nehru (Teen Murti) library, one of my favourite haunts
here, it was already evening. The sidewalks of the road were littered with
leaves, a heady smell of wet neem and jamun trees permeated the area, and when
I looked up, I saw a brilliantly sparkling full moon rising out of the tree
line. What I felt then was pure happiness coupled with tinges of nostalgia; for
I had forgotten just how beautiful Delhi is.
I was happy because I was walking down empty sidewalks to the metro
station, two kilometers away, in approaching darkness without fear. I was not
looking over my shoulders to see if I was being followed or at the oncoming
traffic wary of cars that might slow down near you; I was looking at the bright
moon because I just couldn’t take my eyes off the sky.
That feeling I later realized was strange, given that I was back in
a city which was crazily unsafe for girls even a decade ago. Something
definitely has shifted within the collective conscience of the people of the city,
and I can feel that the city is finally coming to her own after years of being
trodden and used. Delhi is now at her most vibrant self, with numerous things
happening at all corners – what Bombay used to be once upon a time. Public
spaces are now being occupied more and more by women making it safer than
before – city forests, public parks, renovated archeological monuments, city
lakes, gardens, outdoor national and international cultural shows, which have
been made more accessible to people. The kind of on-the-face aggression that
used to exist way back in the 90s and early 2000s, is not there anymore.
Moreover, and more importantly, I haven’t come across people talking to your
boobs or looking you up and down before answering your question – something which
was very common during those days.
To me, from an observational perspective, a couple of key events might have led to this much needed change. The metro system – which has opened up
public travel especially for women like never before; the Nirbhaya incident –
which has made the larger community more aware and sensitive to women and
others (her death was not in vain); activities, access to activities and
technology – there are so many things to do now and with smartphones etc.,
people are rather gainfully occupied; and then there is the younger generation –
they are a breed apart: gutsy, intelligent, well-informed, risk-taking, and
sensitive, and they are here in Delhi from all corners of India overshadowing
the typical Delhi boys and girls. I also feel the current Delhi government has brought
in much required fresh energy which might not reflect overtly but rather in these
subtle shifts.
A lot still needs to change – especially in
the professional front where babugiri rules and the way people are so stuck up.
However, I am not going to complain. For I am beginning to really like this ‘New’
Delhi.
